I've loved getting a chance to learn more about the history of Kyiv and the people of eastern europe. What chapters of their story would you like to see covered?
"Getting a chance?" Kyiv and the People of Eastern Europe have been around for your entire life. What you call "Getting a chance to learn" is better called "Getting around to learning." You are only covering this history because Kyiv and the People of Eastern Europe may not be around for the rest of your life.
Its Key Ev. In English. Its Kiev: Key Ev. Words in English are anglicized. This is normal in all languages. Pretending to speak Ukrainian and pronoucing it badly is insulting.
I'd love if you'd do something on the Czech lands, Bohemia and Moravia. Something on the Premyslid dynasty. Or Vaclav the Good (aka St. Wenceslas, but use the Czech name!).
The nobility in Norway was deeply connected to the Kievan Rus. Our only saint here, Olav, and his cousin the last Viking king, Harald Hardråde, both got their power from Kiev, and it was the main route of the Varangians going to serve in Constantinople for the emperors there, such as Harald Hardråde.
Very Interesting. According to my genealogical research she is actually an ancestor of mine (32nd Greatgrandmother). Although my connection to her goes back through the French kings not Norwegian.
It is genuinely uncanny how invicta keeps covering topics at the same time as I study them for my degree. Starting to think he's been lurking in my lecture hall without me noticing
This was a great video. Saint Olga's story is one of great political and military intrigues. At the end of the day she did all for her people. Just like any good ruler would do. Beautifully done Invicta.
She did those deeds for the future of the ruling class--like every ruler in her era. She was an effective ruler, but no saint--not according to truly Christian ideals.
@@ElBandito Nonsense. She spent her remaining decades after her conversion to the building of churches, conversion of her people, ending state persecution of Christians in her territory and spent vast sums of her own wealth to the provisions of food and charity to those in need. She was everything one would expect, and then some, from a truly pious Christian ruler. Besides her verifiable Christian deeds and piety there is also the fact that the Body of Christ, the Church, which is led unto all truth by the Spirit of Truth, has universally proclaimed her to be a saint of God for over 1000 years. To assert otherwise is to assert the Holy Spirit has been in error for a over a millennium.
@@J..P.. HAH! THE ORTHODOX CHURCH OF RUSSIA IS A JOKE! What have they done except being the pawns of the Tzars and the Princes? Only worth of the Church was to convince the serfs and masses that their immense suffering under Russian rulers was completely fine since they'll get their rewards in some arbitrary afterlife in Heaven. And now they are being the political tool of Tzar Putin, and receive 30,000 USD wrist watches in return.
No, it implies that the church is in error. Neither the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit came down and ordained the pope. In fact popes have been some of the most sinful people in history.
I have researched a lot about Olga and I've always loved this story. She was amazing and smart af. I am a massive history buff. This is well done and well spoken. It is perfect if you don't need re-enactment clips
The story use typical viking tactics, such as using birds to burn down cities, burning large groups of men in mead halls and other ways of feigned hospitality turned to horrible vengeance is told a lot of in the Sagas.
2 роки тому+24
Well her dynasty the Rurikids were Vikings (Northmen, Rus) by ancestry so that shouldn't be surprise.
Do you relly believe though that a bird you basically set fire to will fly to its nest rather than anywhere else? Maybe if it was subtly glowing embers somehow kept on a long string, but those would be less effective.
@@ViolosD2I I don't know, and I can't think of anyone willing to test if it works or not, but a bird in pain will perhaps be wanting to hide somewhere when flying is difficult, and what place will feel safer then in the nest? Not sure how the tactic worked, but since it's mentioned in several accounts, I can only guess it's based on reality.
Isn't it their instinct to fly back to their home where they think its safe? Like messenger pigeons. Its not like the bird itself was set on fire nor does a bird really understand the nature of fire. I'm not saying the account is true, but I would think its plausible at least.
It's not "typical viking tactics", it's just the same but local version of legends from Scandinavian Sagas mixed together. Since Olga was from a royal viking family it's probably the way she or her descendants justified the rulership over the local slavic people
@@GenocideWesterners lmfao A. Its kyiv B. Its not if anything russia is more ukrainian than Ukraine is russian. And they go back since before the mongols as their own people. If your so sad about "soviet brothers"(lets ignore the fact it wad by force) killing eachother maybe be more upset about russia you know. Invading under missile barrage at 3 am
@@mondaysinsanity8193 Are you dumb ? You fool, ukraine never had any fixed borders before the Soviets drew them. Ukrainian nationalism only arose in what's today known as far western ukraine in the 19th century. Kiev is the mother of all Russian cities. And to be honest, Crimea and most of eastern ukraine are legitimate Russian lands with ethnic Russian majorities. Odessa was the most prized port of Russia for centuries. It was literally constructed by Russians in 1794. After fall of the Russian Empire in 1917, no one knew where Russia ended and ukraine began because the lines never existed still the Soviets drew them in 1922. Ukraine in all slavic languages means borderland. A borderland of something much bigger. And the Russian language was standardized a hundred years before the Ukrainian language. 62% of Ukrainian words are from Russian and the rest are from polish and other languages. These are undeniable facts which can't be changed. Kiev was, is and will always remain a great Russian city. Russians and Ukrainians are brothers, not enemies. No amount of western arms, rewriting of history and propoganda will ever change that. Glory to Russia 🇷🇺🇷🇺🇷🇺 Glory to Ukraine🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦 Glory to the USSR 🚩🚩🚩 Don't speak about things you don't know.. Russians and Ukrainians have been brothers for centuries.
@@GenocideWesterners like, you for real watch a video on the history of kyiv. Yet still post a comment just...ignoring the documentary you just watched
I shit you not, I was reading her Wikipedia article five minutes before this video was uploaded because I thought she would be a great leader in civ 6. Crazy!
been having these "coincidences" a lot lately. a while ago I was making a mattress for my cat, out of styrofoam. I was working on my patio, all walled in, no witnesses, computer wasn't even on, done and finished in less than 10 minutes. a couple of hours later, youtube, _"How to cut styrofoam."_ yeah. *_THAT_* level of "coincidence." from there, up.
@@bcn1gh7h4wk Recently I had a quick chat about fish food with the shop owner whilst buying some (phone in pocket). About 20 mins later, ebay sends me a notification showing me fish food for sale. Not cool.
@@HonestBottom eavesdropping by smart appliances has been proven time and again. I'm talking about doing things, or thinking about things, without telling anyone, and later finding something related on youtube.
Drevlians: Golly, this siege sure is rough. Queen Olga: Tell you what. If you pay this humble tribute, I'll lift this siege and will leave tomorrow morning. :)
As someone who already knew the story of this legendary woman I'm glad to see it covered again. Especially when you do it so well and with such style. It is an especially important tale to tell at the present moment in history when Russia is trying to claim that Ukraine has no historical precident for existing when in reality Kiev and the Rus have existed far before the identity of modern Russia.
They also existed far before Ukrainian identity - both Russia and Ukraine share same heritage from Ancient Rus, back then they were (and at some extent still is) same one people. It's just because their center eventually moved to the north people of the southern territories start to get their own identity and unite around still the largest city of the region, Kiev.
both Russia, Belarus and Ukraine see this as their origin story. the national identities of these countries diverged, and each one if mostly comprised of different ethnic groups, but they see their origins in the same events. then again, that's like saying Christianity and Judaism is the same thing because they share the same origin story. the kieven Rus who remained at the south west maintained one identity whereas those who expanded to the northeast developed over time a different identity, language, and ethnicity. they are different people, even if one of them is a branch of the others.
@@alucard347 Your Judaism analogy is beyond flawed. You're comparing civilizations that developed tens of thousands of miles apart, to civilizations that grew up in the same geological neighborhood.
Man, no matter what time in history, Do NOT mess with Kyiv. It just ends badly for you. Olga is a total badass. I love how that general was like "damn, not even mad, just impressed" once that ruse was exposed.
And definitely not because the best soldiers in her army had now taken proper defensive positions, right? Pechneg warlord have to maintain loyalty of his people, so he can't just say, "Hey, I messed up, I overestimated them, and now there's no chance to win."
The Count of Monte Cristo has nothing on Olga of Kyiv. Not only did she enact lasting vengeance on her enemies, but also secured her lands for generations.
Wow, what a story! I have read and watched other channels with this story but, with the animations as illustrations and some flavor, her gift for savage retribution and wise administrative skills was finally delivered so that I can admire her baddassery in full. Thank you so much for a brilliant presentation.
Why would Saint Olga (Helga) - who was ethnically Swedish - and mother of all eastern Slavs be proud of Ukraine? She was the mother of all of Russia. Russia is even named after her people. If anything, she would be sad that her people are being used against each other over the geopolitical interests of the same people who murdered millions of them in the 20th century.
Her real name was Helga. And she was from noble Varangian (Northmen) family. Olga is just the Slavic adoption of that name. As well as Oleg (from Helg), Igor (from Ingvar) etc..
Great video once again and well done on covering a topic that ties in with the current events ongoing in Eastern Europe. It's nice to see more about the history that got Ukrainian people to where they are today.
Kievan Rus is the shared history between Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, back when they were all one Rus people. Don't think that just because the capital was Kiev that it was Ukrainian only, the Ukrainian people would not diverge from the rest of Rus until after the Mongols were kicked out.
@@Threezi04 No where do I say it isn't shared history. I am only pointing out that it is interesting to cover the history of a people who currently live in the region that is covered in this video. No one is disputing that there is no shared history between the three you mentioned. It is just that Russia and Belarus are taking a bit of a backseat in the mind of most people because they are either allowing it to happen or are the aggressor in the current conflict. You will therefore logically find that anyone not agreeing with what's going on in Ukraine automatically has more sympathy for the Ukrainians. That doesn’t take away from their shared history. It is just that they will be mentioned less for the time being. At least for as long as people need time to start moving on from what currently happens.
How have I never heard this before, it would make an amazing movie.
2 роки тому+3
Great Video. What a Woman. I have the feeling that the Name "Volodomyr the Great" will be a hotly contested one between at least two guys from now on 🙂
I'm glad I patiently waited through the first 6 minutes of this video until the interesting part started. Wow, I was expecting to hear about a saintly woman, but I fear Olga WAS NO SAINT. One scary woman!
Everybody talk in the history class about men revengers, but after examples like Queen Olga story, I think that the women revenges are more dangerous. XD
Olga should've never ruled over Scandinavian Rus and that state itself should've never been established. She was an outsider from a ruling culture that forced itself upon the local slavs of the region. Her revenge was against the Drevlians was completely unjust as they were merely defending themselves from her Tyrant viking husband. The Drevlians should've dismantled the Rus state all together and forced off the Scandinavian yoke from the local slavs.
Yeah... history of the Kievan Rus is not something that the currently outraged Twitter mob is gonna want to see. But learning the truth about history is something I always encourage.
I had heard others tell about her, none as well as you. My compliments. Idle curiosity, but can anyone tell me if the name Olga and River Volga have a connection? I'm just curious.
PSA: Scrolling through the comments; It seems many seem to think this story is historical nonfiction ala 'Units of History' or 'Avenging Varus' -It's not. This should be taken as something like a 'Saga'. She was Queen/reagent and did avenge her murdered husband by having a lot of people killed; some rather brutally -but the details; while likely have a grain of truth...are dodgy -to say the least.
Neither did the Ancient Greeks. Greek is a term that western European peoples used to refer to ancient Greek, the eastern Roman empire, and now the modern nation of Greece. The ancient Greeks called themselves ''Hellenes'', the Byzantines called themselves ''Romaioi'' while also aknowledging that they were the descendants of both Romans and Greeks. The modern Greeks called themselves ''Romioi'' until the revolution of 1821. After this event and until this day, they call themselves ''Hellenes''. Throughout the centuries though, the people on their west always called them Greeks.
@@dnkal2875 At least until the Great Schism, then that definition gets a bit more complicated and the whole "Empire of the Greeks" thing becomes a bit more concrete. Balkan Mountains is totally on the ball though, the way we're conceptualizing and labeling these empires and peoples is pretty anachronistic and we have the actual terms they used for themselves in their historical context.
Both Kiev and Kyiv are legitimate names for this city, both of which derive from the Old East Slavic Kыѥвъ or Kyjevŭ. To simply call it one over the other is to make a political statement.
@@Zeerich-yx9po I am Serbian and we don't call Belgrade Bilghrad, what are you on about? We call it Beograd. Idiots pretending to be smart on the internet smh
I somewhat disagree. some languages prefer to retain the local pronunciation. in my country we do say Roma and Milano for Rome and Milan. on the other hand my country uses terms like Kiev and Kharkov instead of Kyiv and Kharkiv mostly due to a large Russia population here and the fact that they brought the names with them. how English speakers decide to pronounce names is a bit weird, and is almost always going to be incorrect, but some places do know them by their local names.
The only political statement here is that we need to twist the English language to Leftist standards, be it gender, race, sexuality, or in this case, Kiev.
Technically she became a saint after her death and her life before baptism is forgiven and forgotten, You take on a new life and it does appear she introduced Christianity to a new people which was basically the role of the apostles and she seems to have had a genuine conversion. I wouldn't say they "made" her a saint. She was just canonized officially as one. There are many Saints who have lived that are not canonized. Being Canonized doesn't make someone a saint. Everyone who's now in heaven is technically a saint. Saints are human beings who lived holy lives in obedience to God's will and are now in heaven for eternity.
The city's name is said to derive from the name of Kyi, one of its four legendary founders. So, it is KYIV. Simple. Let’s make it even more simple for y’all, Ukrainian speakers use the name Kyiv, Russian speakers Ukrainians use Kiev. Guys don’t make it as big deal. For example Italians use Milano, others nations call it Milan.
some countries use the Russian terms for it. in Israel for example, the naming convention is the Russian one, but that is more due to the fact that a lot of the early Zionist movement and the renewal of the Hebrew language stemmed from people coming from the Russian empire, who used those terms.
Another excellent documentary. May I recommend the Viking stories, myths, legends and folktales on the Northworthy Sagas and Stories channel here on UA-cam. ⚔️
Yes but the title is grand Prince witch is not used in the rest of europe plus its a long time ago and a difrent languige so i think Queen works fine. Im from sweden for example were we call a ruling prince a furste not pris witch mens prince so difrent languige difrent words.
2 роки тому+3
@@martinhg98 Actually in Slavic their titles were knyaz and knyaginja or something similar which comes from Nordic/Germanic "kuning" or "kuningaz". If translated to modern English her title was actually queen.
Given how Russia and Belarus used to be part of Ukraine, this is general Eastern Slavic history. All modern Eastern Slavic cultures are born from old Ukrainian. Meaning russia is in reality Ukrainian territory
@@notvonbayern9202 There was no such territory as Ukraine till XVIII century. The land had a name as Rus' Land. Or the Land of Rus. Also, people were called as Rus' People, or people in possession of Rus. I'm not 100% sure, but the biggest tribe of slavs which were conquered in south by Viking Rus tribe was Polyane (or Easten Polans). Half of them are ancestors for Ukrainians, but half are the Southern Russians known as Don Cossaks and Kubanians
@@romanchannel69 "Russia" hasn't been called "Russia" before Peter The First. Before then it was called Moscovia. This is just another attempt of Moscovians to steal Rus' history from Ukrainians.
I've loved getting a chance to learn more about the history of Kyiv and the people of eastern europe. What chapters of their story would you like to see covered?
The Mongols ......
"Getting a chance?" Kyiv and the People of Eastern Europe have been around for your entire life. What you call "Getting a chance to learn" is better called "Getting around to learning." You are only covering this history because Kyiv and the People of Eastern Europe may not be around for the rest of your life.
Its Key Ev. In English. Its Kiev: Key Ev. Words in English are anglicized. This is normal in all languages.
Pretending to speak Ukrainian and pronoucing it badly is insulting.
The vikings.
I'd love if you'd do something on the Czech lands, Bohemia and Moravia. Something on the Premyslid dynasty. Or Vaclav the Good (aka St. Wenceslas, but use the Czech name!).
12:45 Queen Olga:" I'm here for a funeral."
Drevlians: "Your husband's?"
Queen Olga: "...Yes..."
Queen Olga: “…perhaps….”
😎
prepare the funeral... but not for me
Queen Olga: "...yeah let's go with that..."
The nobility in Norway was deeply connected to the Kievan Rus. Our only saint here, Olav, and his cousin the last Viking king, Harald Hardråde, both got their power from Kiev, and it was the main route of the Varangians going to serve in Constantinople for the emperors there, such as Harald Hardråde.
Very Interesting. According to my genealogical research she is actually an ancestor of mine (32nd Greatgrandmother). Although my connection to her goes back through the French kings not Norwegian.
The channel's previous FOUR videos on Harald, including his life and adventures in "Russia,' have already addressed this fact in detail.
@@vernonmcphee6746 where did you learn this?
Was that Harald the Bluetooth?
@@vernonmcphee6746Normans were Norwegians who settled in Normandy, you most likely have it from them.
It is genuinely uncanny how invicta keeps covering topics at the same time as I study them for my degree. Starting to think he's been lurking in my lecture hall without me noticing
🤣🤣 that's awesome
He is your professor
This was a great video. Saint Olga's story is one of great political and military intrigues. At the end of the day she did all for her people. Just like any good ruler would do. Beautifully done Invicta.
She was a psychopath. Good ruler my ass.
She did those deeds for the future of the ruling class--like every ruler in her era. She was an effective ruler, but no saint--not according to truly Christian ideals.
@@ElBandito Nonsense. She spent her remaining decades after her conversion to the building of churches, conversion of her people, ending state persecution of Christians in her territory and spent vast sums of her own wealth to the provisions of food and charity to those in need. She was everything one would expect, and then some, from a truly pious Christian ruler.
Besides her verifiable Christian deeds and piety there is also the fact that the Body of Christ, the Church, which is led unto all truth by the Spirit of Truth, has universally proclaimed her to be a saint of God for over 1000 years. To assert otherwise is to assert the Holy Spirit has been in error for a over a millennium.
@@J..P.. HAH! THE ORTHODOX CHURCH OF RUSSIA IS A JOKE! What have they done except being the pawns of the Tzars and the Princes? Only worth of the Church was to convince the serfs and masses that their immense suffering under Russian rulers was completely fine since they'll get their rewards in some arbitrary afterlife in Heaven. And now they are being the political tool of Tzar Putin, and receive 30,000 USD wrist watches in return.
No, it implies that the church is in error. Neither the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit came down and ordained the pope. In fact popes have been some of the most sinful people in history.
I just had a horrible image coalesce in my mind.
Byzantine Empire: "Help me, steppe tribes, I'm stuck!"
underrated comment
Holy shit this made me burst out laughing, pure poetry.
okay, that's enough internet for today
Oh slap!
Steppe tribes : *unzips*
Your storytelling skills are awesome, Invicta. I've known Olga's story for a long time, but the way you told it still kept me riveted.
It is an epic story and a great presentation from Invictis.
@@christophertownsend3820 With the perfect background soundtracks.
G.R.R. Martin could not have told it better.
@@kangirigungi G.R.R. Martin could for sure, but we wouldn't get an ending for years to come
I have researched a lot about Olga and I've always loved this story. She was amazing and smart af. I am a massive history buff. This is well done and well spoken. It is perfect if you don't need re-enactment clips
The story use typical viking tactics, such as using birds to burn down cities, burning large groups of men in mead halls and other ways of feigned hospitality turned to horrible vengeance is told a lot of in the Sagas.
Well her dynasty the Rurikids were Vikings (Northmen, Rus) by ancestry so that shouldn't be surprise.
Do you relly believe though that a bird you basically set fire to will fly to its nest rather than anywhere else?
Maybe if it was subtly glowing embers somehow kept on a long string, but those would be less effective.
@@ViolosD2I I don't know, and I can't think of anyone willing to test if it works or not, but a bird in pain will perhaps be wanting to hide somewhere when flying is difficult, and what place will feel safer then in the nest?
Not sure how the tactic worked, but since it's mentioned in several accounts, I can only guess it's based on reality.
Isn't it their instinct to fly back to their home where they think its safe? Like messenger pigeons. Its not like the bird itself was set on fire nor does a bird really understand the nature of fire. I'm not saying the account is true, but I would think its plausible at least.
It's not "typical viking tactics", it's just the same but local version of legends from Scandinavian Sagas mixed together. Since Olga was from a royal viking family it's probably the way she or her descendants justified the rulership over the local slavic people
I’m Eastern Orthodox and I had no idea who Olga was. She made game of thrones look like a kids show
Weren't shows like these written by _living humans_ who might have taken inspiration from the past?
Rus', Bulgars, Byzantines, Pechenegs--I would love to see you continue your coverage of Eastern European history.
“And keeps her vigil over the city of Kyiv in its times of greatest need”
She still seems to be doing a pretty good job
Wonder how many javalins have "from: olga" on the side
@@GenocideWesterners lmfao
A. Its kyiv
B. Its not if anything russia is more ukrainian than Ukraine is russian.
And they go back since before the mongols as their own people.
If your so sad about "soviet brothers"(lets ignore the fact it wad by force) killing eachother maybe be more upset about russia you know.
Invading under missile barrage at 3 am
@@mondaysinsanity8193 Are you dumb ?
You fool, ukraine never had any fixed borders before the Soviets drew them. Ukrainian nationalism only arose in what's today known as far western ukraine in the 19th century.
Kiev is the mother of all Russian cities. And to be honest, Crimea and most of eastern ukraine are legitimate Russian lands with ethnic Russian majorities. Odessa was the most prized port of Russia for centuries. It was literally constructed by Russians in 1794. After fall of the Russian Empire in 1917, no one knew where Russia ended and ukraine began because the lines never existed still the Soviets drew them in 1922.
Ukraine in all slavic languages means borderland. A borderland of something much bigger.
And the Russian language was standardized a hundred years before the Ukrainian language. 62% of Ukrainian words are from Russian and the rest are from polish and other languages.
These are undeniable facts which can't be changed.
Kiev was, is and will always remain a great Russian city.
Russians and Ukrainians are brothers, not enemies.
No amount of western arms, rewriting of history and propoganda will ever change that.
Glory to Russia 🇷🇺🇷🇺🇷🇺
Glory to Ukraine🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦
Glory to the USSR 🚩🚩🚩
Don't speak about things you don't know..
Russians and Ukrainians have been brothers for centuries.
@@GenocideWesterners like, you for real watch a video on the history of kyiv. Yet still post a comment just...ignoring the documentary you just watched
The spirit of Olga guides every javelin it seems
I shit you not, I was reading her Wikipedia article five minutes before this video was uploaded because I thought she would be a great leader in civ 6.
Crazy!
I love when that kind of coincidence happens :)
The question is: Did "UA-cam" know you were reading Wikipedia about it, or did the interest you already had make UA-cam suggest it to you?
been having these "coincidences" a lot lately.
a while ago I was making a mattress for my cat, out of styrofoam.
I was working on my patio, all walled in, no witnesses, computer wasn't even on, done and finished in less than 10 minutes.
a couple of hours later, youtube, _"How to cut styrofoam."_
yeah.
*_THAT_* level of "coincidence."
from there, up.
@@bcn1gh7h4wk Recently I had a quick chat about fish food with the shop owner whilst buying some (phone in pocket). About 20 mins later, ebay sends me a notification showing me fish food for sale. Not cool.
@@HonestBottom eavesdropping by smart appliances has been proven time and again.
I'm talking about doing things, or thinking about things, without telling anyone, and later finding something related on youtube.
Part of me would want a wife like this and the other would be scared if I ever made her angry. She was sainted bc she went biblical on her enemies
Murder is a-ok as long as DEUS VULT lol
"she went biblical" that cracked me up
I cannot explain how much I love this comment.
The brutalities attributed to St Olga happened before her baptism.
@@elhombredeoro955 good, if it were after baptism it would have been way more violent and inhuman.
I swear. Sometimes real life stories like these are better then Game of Thrones. What a badass woman. Awesome stuff
History is MUCH stranger than fiction.
Olga: how can I marry you, if you called me daughter ?
The Byzantine Emperor: I am not even mad, I am impressed.
Drevlians: Golly, this siege sure is rough.
Queen Olga: Tell you what. If you pay this humble tribute, I'll lift this siege and will leave tomorrow morning. :)
You guys should do a video on her son and grandsons, they’re stories are worthy of videos themselves
Man what a badass. Im surprised They havent done a mini series on her.
I wouldn't be praising her though , she brutally killed possibly thousands of innocents for the crimes of a few
Agreed
@@lordInquisitor j would, women as fearsome as that and as cunning are rare,
@@JoaoSoares-rs6ec then we should not shy away or overlook her cruel actions
@GM Steelhaven so you are saying that every single person she killed and gave to her troops as awards deserved it ?
Olga's slaying of the emissaries is probably the most hilariously badass ways to get revenge I've seen.
I remember learning about Kniahynia Olga in school and being just completely terrified. Arguably the most metal part of our history.
That was amaziing. I have never heard this story before. It should be a movie.
what an incredible queen. thank you for this
I love your thorough and digestible style paired with clear visuals!!
As someone who already knew the story of this legendary woman I'm glad to see it covered again. Especially when you do it so well and with such style. It is an especially important tale to tell at the present moment in history when Russia is trying to claim that Ukraine has no historical precident for existing when in reality Kiev and the Rus have existed far before the identity of modern Russia.
They also existed far before Ukrainian identity - both Russia and Ukraine share same heritage from Ancient Rus, back then they were (and at some extent still is) same one people. It's just because their center eventually moved to the north people of the southern territories start to get their own identity and unite around still the largest city of the region, Kiev.
The fact that Kiev was practically the founding city of what would become modern Orthodox Russia is *more* reason for them to take it back, not less
They were the Kievan Rus, not the Kievan Uke's.
both Russia, Belarus and Ukraine see this as their origin story.
the national identities of these countries diverged, and each one if mostly comprised of different ethnic groups, but they see their origins in the same events.
then again, that's like saying Christianity and Judaism is the same thing because they share the same origin story.
the kieven Rus who remained at the south west maintained one identity whereas those who expanded to the northeast developed over time a different identity, language, and ethnicity.
they are different people, even if one of them is a branch of the others.
@@alucard347
Your Judaism analogy is beyond flawed. You're comparing civilizations that developed tens of thousands of miles apart, to civilizations that grew up in the same geological neighborhood.
Damn, Queen Olga could make a fine addition to Fate Grand Order as an Assassin Class.
Good thing there's already a character named Olga in FGO, they can bring her back as saint Olga
@@everlastingsolace188
Saint Olga sounds like a character from Knight of the Zodiac-Saint Seiya, not Fate series.
Man, no matter what time in history, Do NOT mess with Kyiv. It just ends badly for you.
Olga is a total badass. I love how that general was like "damn, not even mad, just impressed" once that ruse was exposed.
And definitely not because the best soldiers in her army had now taken proper defensive positions, right? Pechneg warlord have to maintain loyalty of his people, so he can't just say, "Hey, I messed up, I overestimated them, and now there's no chance to win."
Do NOT mess with Kiev, unless you are the Mongols.
@@madhurawat155 Mongols are always the exception
@@madhurawat155 Mongols did 🔥 that city to the ground.. 😁And after this it became a village untill Russia bought off from Poland in the 17 century..
#KyivNotKiev Thank you.
The Count of Monte Cristo has nothing on Olga of Kyiv. Not only did she enact lasting vengeance on her enemies, but also secured her lands for generations.
Nothing beats a good revenge story.
Olga is the real-life Tywin Lannister.
More like a far more competant Cersei
Not even close
@@giorgosgkialpis1394 Your right.
She was way more competent.
@@concept5631 or maybe not
And a little bit Daenerys 🔥
Wow, what a story! I have read and watched other channels with this story but, with the animations as illustrations and some flavor, her gift for savage retribution and wise administrative skills was finally delivered so that I can admire her baddassery in full. Thank you so much for a brilliant presentation.
Saint Olga would be proud of her people right now.
Olga: Good.
Now *burn* Moscow. Make them insignificant again
oh, you mean the Russians and Belorussians as well?
''Her People'' are fighting each other right now
Why would Saint Olga (Helga) - who was ethnically Swedish - and mother of all eastern Slavs be proud of Ukraine? She was the mother of all of Russia. Russia is even named after her people. If anything, she would be sad that her people are being used against each other over the geopolitical interests of the same people who murdered millions of them in the 20th century.
@@grandmastersreaction1267 Please stop spewing your silly facts and logical reasons.
Thank you for making this excellent video!
Slavic women are not only one of the most beautiful, but probably also the most badass in the world. Queen Olga is the great examle of this.
Her real name was Helga. And she was from noble Varangian (Northmen) family. Olga is just the Slavic adoption of that name. As well as Oleg (from Helg), Igor (from Ingvar) etc..
This war really split the Slavic world rip
What a great video!!!
i love the story of queen olga thank you for this now i wish we have a movie in this
Fantastic video keep it up your doing amazing job
This was awesome!
I heard about her in passing decades ago in college, I could never remember her name or find it by searching, thanks!
This has been very informative
It's fun learning everyday.
Amazing episode!
This is why Saint Olga holds the javelin
Fun Fact: There's a Knightly Military Order called the "
Lytsari Svyatoyi Olʹhy" (Knights of Saint Olga) defending Ukraine currently.
Great video once again and well done on covering a topic that ties in with the current events ongoing in Eastern Europe. It's nice to see more about the history that got Ukrainian people to where they are today.
Kievan Rus is the shared history between Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, back when they were all one Rus people. Don't think that just because the capital was Kiev that it was Ukrainian only, the Ukrainian people would not diverge from the rest of Rus until after the Mongols were kicked out.
@@Threezi04 No where do I say it isn't shared history. I am only pointing out that it is interesting to cover the history of a people who currently live in the region that is covered in this video.
No one is disputing that there is no shared history between the three you mentioned. It is just that Russia and Belarus are taking a bit of a backseat in the mind of most people because they are either allowing it to happen or are the aggressor in the current conflict. You will therefore logically find that anyone not agreeing with what's going on in Ukraine automatically has more sympathy for the Ukrainians.
That doesn’t take away from their shared history. It is just that they will be mentioned less for the time being. At least for as long as people need time to start moving on from what currently happens.
@@Threezi04
There is no single nation. The Russians are Finno-Ugric and have nothing to do with the Slavs.
@@asedodekram1740 Sure bro, and let me guess, Ukrainians are Aryan Hyperboreans?
@@Threezi04 It was a sarcasm? No. You can re-read what I wrote above.
Very interesting documentary!
Excellent work Gentlemen
How have I never heard this before, it would make an amazing movie.
Great Video. What a Woman.
I have the feeling that the Name "Volodomyr the Great" will be a hotly contested one between at least two guys from now on 🙂
Thanks for the video 👍🏻
While listening to the story you have to remember that Olga is considered a Saint in the Orthodox Church.
A dweller of Kyiv here. It's amusing to listen to onlookers' reasonings about the city's history, hehe.
I'm glad I patiently waited through the first 6 minutes of this video until the interesting part started. Wow, I was expecting to hear about a saintly woman, but I fear Olga WAS NO SAINT. One scary woman!
She introduced Christianity to the Rus, she is considered 'Equal to apostles'.
Her atrocities came before her conversion
Such is the beauty of Grace, that nobody is too far gone to be saved while they still draw breathy
@@jonathanwilliams1065 She was never a Christian in her life
@@jonathanwilliams1065 lol
@@jonathanwilliams1065 I don't know, at the end of the story, she still carry the vegenful spirit by sending her son to crush the Pencheng.
This needs a tv show
Beautiful. For a more comedic view of this, check out also "Puppet History Revenge of Saint Olga of Kiev"
Unknown5s also does a good job.
#KyivNotKiev Thank you.
Gotta finish this when I get time today!
Same kinda busy rn
Everybody talk in the history class about men revengers, but after examples like Queen Olga story, I think that the women revenges are more dangerous. XD
Fantastic video
Fearsome women, she reminds me of something I heard once, it's those in silence that reveal the harshest fury.
*gains inspiration for D&D campaign*
Olga should've never ruled over Scandinavian Rus and that state itself should've never been established. She was an outsider from a ruling culture that forced itself upon the local slavs of the region. Her revenge was against the Drevlians was completely unjust as they were merely defending themselves from her Tyrant viking husband. The Drevlians should've dismantled the Rus state all together and forced off the Scandinavian yoke from the local slavs.
Yeah... history of the Kievan Rus is not something that the currently outraged Twitter mob is gonna want to see. But learning the truth about history is something I always encourage.
Kievan Rus aka Russia began in Kiev.
Russia starting in Kiev dont fit the narrative of Ukrainian shills at all does it. Bahahaha.
wtf are you talking about?
The fuck are your talking about
@@beufis6979
Rus is the origin of both Ukraine and Russia. What is wrong with that?
I had heard others tell about her, none as well as you. My compliments. Idle curiosity, but can anyone tell me if the name Olga and River Volga have a connection? I'm just curious.
Actually no
Not at all, Olga comes from Old Norse name Helga, while Volga derives from the Old Slavic word for ‘moisture’.
EXCELLENT!!
PSA:
Scrolling through the comments; It seems many seem to think this story is historical nonfiction ala 'Units of History' or 'Avenging Varus' -It's not.
This should be taken as something like a 'Saga'.
She was Queen/reagent and did avenge her murdered husband by having a lot of people killed; some rather brutally -but the details; while likely have a grain of truth...are dodgy -to say the least.
What's the music in the backround at 9:25?
20:52 Greek power 🤯 Eastern Romans never identified as such
Neither did the Ancient Greeks. Greek is a term that western European peoples used to refer to ancient Greek, the eastern Roman empire, and now the modern nation of Greece. The ancient Greeks called themselves ''Hellenes'', the Byzantines called themselves ''Romaioi'' while also aknowledging that they were the descendants of both Romans and Greeks. The modern Greeks called themselves ''Romioi'' until the revolution of 1821. After this event and until this day, they call themselves ''Hellenes''. Throughout the centuries though, the people on their west always called them Greeks.
@@balkanmountains2103 "byzantines" (Romans) were Romans tho, not Greeks.
@@tomula2718 they were Romans not with the meaning of ancient Rome but Christian
@@dnkal2875 Clueless
@@dnkal2875 At least until the Great Schism, then that definition gets a bit more complicated and the whole "Empire of the Greeks" thing becomes a bit more concrete. Balkan Mountains is totally on the ball though, the way we're conceptualizing and labeling these empires and peoples is pretty anachronistic and we have the actual terms they used for themselves in their historical context.
What music did you use?
Absolutely interesting and great topic, female leaders.
Do a video about queen Tamara of Georgia plz, that story would be amazing..
I now want a tv series about her...
The Patron Saint of Vengeance.
More like the Matron Saint of Fine Print.
@@ThePoeticPariah you know what, fair.
We definitely need a serie about OLGA of Kiev
#KyivNotKiev
Both Kiev and Kyiv are legitimate names for this city, both of which derive from the Old East Slavic Kыѥвъ or Kyjevŭ. To simply call it one over the other is to make a political statement.
“Kyiv” is based on Ukrainian pronunciation and is closer to the real thing. “Kiev” is the sign of imperialistic occupation by russia
@@Zeerich-yx9po I am Serbian and we don't call Belgrade Bilghrad, what are you on about?
We call it Beograd.
Idiots pretending to be smart on the internet smh
I somewhat disagree.
some languages prefer to retain the local pronunciation.
in my country we do say Roma and Milano for Rome and Milan.
on the other hand my country uses terms like Kiev and Kharkov instead of Kyiv and Kharkiv mostly due to a large Russia population here and the fact that they brought the names with them.
how English speakers decide to pronounce names is a bit weird, and is almost always going to be incorrect, but some places do know them by their local names.
The only political statement here is that we need to twist the English language to Leftist standards, be it gender, race, sexuality, or in this case, Kiev.
@@dennispashin4393 are those "leftists" in the room with us right now, sir?
It's only a matter of time before this bit of history is made into a Hollywood film.
No, Hollywood would race swap her and make her a lesbian
Her son Vladimir another great story.
Wolodymyr was her grandson actually. Her son was Sviatoslav, no less legendary.
Holy shit.... why isnt there a ‘Vikings’ esque tv ahow about her life?? This is so fascinating!
Nice
I see you are into the Extra Credits’ Extra History videos as well :) Niceeee
Vatniks just a warning - go seethe elsewhere
My daughter is half Ukrainian and I am excited to tell her this one someday. She’s already a firecracker of a toddler ❤
In vain author refers to the falsifications, called "Primary chronicles". Video is wrong.
Awesome
Im watching it only because I know the story, more fucking insane is the fact they made her a "saint" because of that
Technically she became a saint after her death and her life before baptism is forgiven and forgotten, You take on a new life and it does appear she introduced Christianity to a new people which was basically the role of the apostles and she seems to have had a genuine conversion. I wouldn't say they "made" her a saint. She was just canonized officially as one. There are many Saints who have lived that are not canonized. Being Canonized doesn't make someone a saint. Everyone who's now in heaven is technically a saint. Saints are human beings who lived holy lives in obedience to God's will and are now in heaven for eternity.
Ok, so if the story is true, there's a full boat and crew buried some-where under Kiev?
Burying the hatchet - she's doing it wrong.
#KyivNotKiev Thank you.
Thank you
Too bad Olga couldn’t save Kyiv from… wait for it….The Mongols
Perhaps because she was 300 years a bit too early for that
@@fungunsun1 I was more thinking about her "shield of kyiv" nickname, which the joke came from
Greeting from Kyiv! It is so nice to see Olga here, she baad. And thanks for writing Kyiv properly ❤
would she follow people responsible for holodomor against her own kind
What? I think you tried to say something dumb and still failed miserably.
@@KernKlassman Is your answer that she would advise to ukrainians to follow descendants of people responsible for holodomor?
The city's name is said to derive from the name of Kyi, one of its four legendary founders. So, it is KYIV. Simple.
Let’s make it even more simple for y’all, Ukrainian speakers use the name Kyiv, Russian speakers Ukrainians use Kiev. Guys don’t make it as big deal. For example Italians use Milano, others nations call it Milan.
The first language of 1/3 of Ukrainians is Russian.
@@SimonAshworthWood and?
True romans know it's Mediolanum, you barbarian!
@@matiasrisatti670 precisely!
some countries use the Russian terms for it.
in Israel for example, the naming convention is the Russian one, but that is more due to the fact that a lot of the early Zionist movement and the renewal of the Hebrew language stemmed from people coming from the Russian empire, who used those terms.
poor Drevlians, just wanted less taxes
Another excellent documentary. May I recommend the Viking stories, myths, legends and folktales on the Northworthy Sagas and Stories channel here on UA-cam. ⚔️
So interesting, I knew the story of Olga the badass vengeance machine, but wasn't too familiar with her amazing policies
Was queen her title? As far as I know rulers of Kyivan Rus were Grand Princes\Dukes.
Yes but the title is grand Prince witch is not used in the rest of europe plus its a long time ago and a difrent languige so i think Queen works fine. Im from sweden for example were we call a ruling prince a furste not pris witch mens prince so difrent languige difrent words.
@@martinhg98 Actually in Slavic their titles were knyaz and knyaginja or something similar which comes from Nordic/Germanic "kuning" or "kuningaz".
If translated to modern English her title was actually queen.
@you are right, but people will understand better if you will call them kings/qeens because it's more common. Anyway that's the same.
Very interesting
Can you make something about west Slavs like great Moravia or like that 🙂👍
The music chosen for this episode was choice
So basically Olga is who Deanerys Targaryen would have been in real life.
Nope.
now this is what a strong women is she doesn't need to wear a set of armor or brandish a sword she as her charm and wit to crush her enemies
To quote the officer of russian decent susan ivonova from babylon 5, "i am death incarnet"
A man of culture.
She's the patron saint of vengeance. Which is fucking hilarious.
ty for sharing this piece of russian history!
Given how Russia and Belarus used to be part of Ukraine, this is general Eastern Slavic history. All modern Eastern Slavic cultures are born from old Ukrainian. Meaning russia is in reality Ukrainian territory
@@notvonbayern9202
There was no such territory as Ukraine till XVIII century. The land had a name as Rus' Land. Or the Land of Rus. Also, people were called as Rus' People, or people in possession of Rus. I'm not 100% sure, but the biggest tribe of slavs which were conquered in south by Viking Rus tribe was Polyane (or Easten Polans). Half of them are ancestors for Ukrainians, but half are the Southern Russians known as Don Cossaks and Kubanians
@@notvonbayern9202 None of those nations existed back then and kievan rus isn't even close to being Ukranian it was a viking kingdom
@@romanchannel69
"Russia" hasn't been called "Russia" before Peter The First.
Before then it was called Moscovia.
This is just another attempt of Moscovians to steal Rus' history from Ukrainians.